Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1887-04-18


Tell me where you live, and 1 will go to
see her..
Benoni opened his black eyes wide with
establishment. You go to see herr" he
repeated. maybe you don't know she's
Jew"
"A Jew replied the lady smiling,
7 ''that will make no difference if she is
/ sick and in need; Christian should be glad
to do good to any one, as Christ our Saw
| Jour, did,
cannot tell you just how it all came
about; but Archie's mother went that
very afternoon to see the sick, disheart-
ened woman lying alone in her miserable
room, and on the following Sunday, just
to show his gratitude, and in compliance
with the good lady's request, Benoni sat
in her class at Sundayschool, with Ar
chic and the other boys But week after
week passed on, and still Benoni came, no
longer merely in gratitude for the kind
ness which continued to brighten his poor
home, but for a genuine growing interest.
One day he returned home looking eX-
ceedingly thoughtful. Mother" he be-
gan, with a queer hesitancy of manner,
Il have learned lots that l never knew
before, since going to this school, and l
am now certain of one thing-I never
knew what a real Christian was till [ lay
on that pile of straw that day in Archie
Winston's stable; mother, would it hurt
your feelin's much if | was to be Chris
tian?"
The mother looked at him silently for a
moment, and then rising she placed her
hand tenderly on his head, and answered
earnestly, mo, my boy, not if it's to
make you like the Christ. l, too, have
been learning of Him. and she pointed to
a copy of the New Testament lying open
on her pillow. THE kind Christian lady
has been to see me often when you at
work. and she has taught ME, too, to love
the One she follows"
ooh, mother, am glad," 1t was all
BenOni said just then, but a few mo-
ments later he spoke again as though con-
tinuing the first of the conversation.
And you know, mother, when one be-
comes a Christian he is baptised, and oft
en- takes new name to remind him that
being in Christ, he is a new creature
that's what the lady said. Now / don't
think l would like to give up my old name
entirely, for it wouldn't seem natural
like, and somehow, I'd hardly know my
self. But you told me once of a little fell
low who was first named, like ME, Beno-
ni-'son of my sOrrOw-and then had his
name changed to Benjamin-'son of my
right hand Now, mother, that's the
name 1 want, for 1 know well enough
that l have been sorry son to you all my
life; but The good Christ will help me, L
will try, from this time on to be different,
and what you can call son of your right
hand
The mother had listened with throb-
bing heart to every word, but the tears fell
too fast for speech; nevertheless, Benoni
understood her silence better, perhaps,
than the words she would have spoken.
And so a few weeks later-and as it
happened on a glorious Easter morning
these two, mother and son, stood tOgeth
er in Gods house to receive the blessed
sign and sacrament of him who came to
save the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As Benoni had generally been known
under the shorter name of Ben, the new
name now received caused neither trouble
nor embarrassment. But in his own, and
his mothers heart, each felt the new sig
nifcance of that short word now, and she
never failed to give him in full the longer,
sweeter name which he himself had chos-
en-, and under which he fully proved that
the son of sorrow had become, as it were,
a new son to her-henceforth the son of
her right hand-N. \. ObserCer.